The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

Location

Seventeen miles west of Steamboat Springs, the Yampa River drops through a narrow gap before flowing onto one of the broadest floodplains in western Colorado. The preserve is located on the eastern edge of this floodplain.  

Size

The Conservancy has protected 8,800 acres along a 10-mile stretch of the Yampa River, including the 265-acre Morgan Bottoms, a broad floodplain.

What to Expect

This preserve is beautiful throughout the spring, fall and winter, but mosquitoes can be unrelenting during the summer.

Why The Conservancy Selected This Site

How does the Yampa River support such an extensive riparian ecosystem?

Its natural flooding processes are relatively intact. When the river floods, the rushing water slowly erodes banks and deposits new sediments, allowing the river channel to shift. This "river dance" helps to establish new streamside forests and wetlands.

Another reason for protection: This preserve harbors one of the largest remaining examples of a rare riparian forest type dominated by narrowleaf cottonwood, box elder and red-osier dogwood.

What The Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing

The Conservancy has protected 8,800 acres along a 10-mile stretch of the Yampa River.

The Conservancy's long-term goal in the Valley is to provide conservation-based alternatives to traditional land management practices. We pursue this goal through these and other conservation tools that provide landowners with creative options for protecting their land:

• Conservation easements
• Assisting with management plans
• Cooperative stewardship projects with the Colorado State Land Board (SLB), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and private landowners. 

How to Prepare for Your Visit

Pack your insect repellant. Consider visiting the Conservancy's Carpenter Ranch while you're in the area. Please leave pets at home while you enjoy the native plants and animals at this preserve. 

When to Visit

Open year-round, dawn to dusk

Why You Should Visit

The Yampa is one of the few rivers remaining in the West that can support an extensive riparian (streamside) ecosystem.

The scenic Morgan Bottoms section of the preserve is open to the public. You can enjoy a lovely walk (two miles roundtrip) through the heart of the cottonwood forest, which is nestled within a canyon along the banks of the Yampa. On a good day, you might see an elk pausing for a cool drink, or a bald eagle keeping watch from a tree by water's edge.

This preserve protects acres of lush riparian forest and upland habitats that provide home to an abundance of wildlife. During the winter, this is a great place for a short, peaceful outing on cross-country skis or snowshoes.

Things To Do

Spend time exploring the preserve and keeping watch for a variety of plants and animals.

Plants

The Conservancy's Yampa River Preserve contains some of the highest-quality occurrences of the globally rare box elder-narrowleaf cottonwood/red-osier dogwood plant community. The preserve includes about three miles of river frontage.

Animals

• Beaver 
• Elk
• Bald eagles
• Mink
• Mule deer
• Swainson's thrush
• River otter
• Grey cat bird

Plan Your Visit

Pack your insect repellant and a pair of binoculars. Also consider visiting the Conservancy's Carpenter Ranch while you're in the area.

Directions

From Denver:

• Take Interstate 70 west 
• Near Silverthorne, take State Highway 9 north to Kremmling
• At Kremmling, take U.S. Highway 40 northwest to Steamboat Springs
• Drive approximately 17 miles west of Steamboat Springs; you will cross railroad tracks and then immediately cross a bridge ("5-Mile Bridge") over the Yampa River. Make an immediate left into the parking area.

Discussion

Have you been to this preserve? Are you thinking of visiting? See what others are saying about their experiences and add your comments below.

Add Your Comments

Time for you to join the discussion. Tell us about your experience at this preserve. What plants and animals did you see? When did you go? You can help others plan their visit when you share your thoughts. And thank you for visiting one of our nature preserves!

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